the hug

As knitters/crocheters/weavers/overall fiber crafters, we've all felt the need to keep people warm and comfortable, even if it's 90 degrees with eleventy-billion percent humidity. It's just our way of saying that we love people and we're here for them. This week I've been maniacally crocheting a prayer-shawl for my kinda-Aunt Cathy, who lost her husband on Monday night. The shawl itself is nothing special, it's a crochet shell-stitch with Patons Decor- the same yarn I used for my first Harp-woven project. I mentioned this on Ravelry and got the question, "what is a prayer shawl"?

I don't know. Sometimes a shawl is called a comfort-shawl, and sometimes a prayer-shawl but I prefer to think of them as big wooly hugs. There's tons of hugs and comfort after you lose someone as everyone hovers around, but after days and weeks and months pass, the shawl remains. The shawl is something physical to hold and people say that helps. I'm not overly religious and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be praying while making the shawl, or if she's supposed to wear it while praying...but I think the message is the same: the shawl is here for you always, and part of me will always be there within it.

*On a side note here's a picture of the two projects side by side from the same yarn. I'm always amazed at how you can start with the exact same materials and end up with something so amazingly different. But that's the beauty of fiber arts, n'est pas?